Cyaniding-tower



0. R. COMSTOCK.

CYANIDING TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, 1919- 1,361,445. I Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

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CYANIDING TOWER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 5, 1919.

Patented Dec. 7,-1920.

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U-DIJUUBIJUK [NV NTOQ. /26 @M 03% ATTORNEY ORVIL R. COMSTOCK, OF WEST ALLIS, WISCONSIN.

CYANIDING-TOWER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

Application filed February 5, 1919. Serial No. 275,232.

ing ore pulp and cyaniding solution in small units to enable the latter to thoroughly dissolve all gold and silver values from the ore pulp.

Another object of this invention is to utilize an aerating and agitating mechanism which will elevate the material step by step.

somewhat in the manner of the cyanlding tower covered in United States Letters Patent No. 1,201,386 to Albert F. Tanner, dated October 17, 1916.

Another'object of the invention is to provide a cyaniding tower with a pair of vertical series of buckets operating on opposite sides of a partitionand reciprocated vertically whereby the buckets in each series when in their highest position discharge their contents into the buckets of the other series in their lowest position.

Another object of the invention is to provide each bucket of a cyaniding tower of this type with deflecting walls causing the material to travel in a sinuous passage therethrough separating and arresting the values for continuous treatment and subjecting them to the action of agitators caused to rotate by the movements of the bucket.

With the above and other objectsin view, the invention consists in the cyaniding tower as herein claimed and all equivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a cyaniding tower constructed in accordance with this invention with a series of buckets on the right side of themachine in their highest position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view with a series of buckets on the left side of the machine in their highest position;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view;

. Fig. 4: is a view looking at the inner walls ings 25 in of one of the series of buckets, the partition being removed;

Fig. 5 is a view of the partition;

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of one of the buckets and the parts associated therewith; and,

Fig. 7 is a view showing the bucket clamps.

In these drawings 10 indicates corner channel irons arranged vertically to form the corners of a tower frame, while pairs of similar channel irons 11 placed back to back with a sheet metal partition 12 secured between them from a central vertical division of the tower frame. These corner and metal channel irons are connected at intervals by horizontal angle irons 13 so that the tower frame is strong and rigid.

At the top of the tower frame are brackets forming bearings 14 for a shaft carrying s rocket wheels 15 and a crank arm 16.

hains 17 pass around the sprocket wheels 15 and have their ends connected to bucket cages 18 mounted to reciprocate in the op posite sides of the tower frame. Motion is given to the parts by a connecting rod 19 connecting the crank arm 16 with a suitably driven crank 20. The radius of the crank 20 is shorter than the radius of the crank arm 16 so that a revolution of the former will cause oscillation of the latter from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 2.

Each of the bucket cages 18 is provided with grooved rollers 21 at the ends of its cross pieces 22 and these rollers engage with the flanges of channel irons 10 and 11 so that the bucket cages are guided in their movements.

A pair of horizontal rods 23 extends across the bucket cage at each position for the buckets and the sheet metal bucket 24 is fitted within the bucket cage with its inclined bottom resting on said rods 23. The inner end of the bucket 24: bears flat against the partition plate 12, and a'series of opensaid end of the bucket near the bottom is adapted to register with either a series of openings 26 in the partitionplate 12 or a series of openings 26,"the openings of such series being staggered and the two sets being provided in alternate arrangement for cooperation with the openings of the buckets of both series. The openings of the buckets on the left side of the frame, shown in Fig. 4, register with the openings 26 of the partition, while the openings of the buckets on the right side of the frame register with the openings 26. Because of the staggered relation of the openings 26 and 26, the buckets may pass a series of openings with which their openings do not register without the loss of material therefrom, and this feature is made use of in the operation of the device.

The end 27 of the bucket which contains the openings 25 is preferably made removable and is provided with a cloth covering 28 to insure a tight fit with the partition 12 and to take the rubbing wear. The removable bucket wall 27 is shorter than the other walls of the bucket and at the lowest point of travel of the bucket its upper edge lies even with or slightly below the lower edge of a set of partition openings with which the openings of the buckets of the other series register. Thus when the buckets on one side of the tower are in their highest position their openings register with open ings in the partition so that the material may flow therefrom through the partition and into the buckets on the other side which are then in their lowest position.

An inclined plate 29 with its upper edge at the top of the removable wall 27 extends to near the opposite wall of the bucket and from one side of the bucket to the other so as to conduct the material to a similar inclined plate 30 slanting in the opposite direction, and which in turn delivers it to another inclined plate 31 corresponding with plate 29, and from which the material drops to the inclined bottom of the bucket. The path of travel of the material through the bucket is therefore a sinuous path, causing repeated aeration as the material drops from one plate to another and considerable agitation. To increase the agitation some of the inclined plates, preferably plate 30 and the bottom of the bucket, may be provided with depressions or pockets 32 extending entirely across the bucket, in which the heavier portions of the material will gather and be delayed while staggered agitator blades 33 journaled through the walls of the bucket stir back and forth to keep the value bearing heavier particles in motion and thereby give the cyanid solution greater opportunity to attack and dissolve the gold and silver. A convenient means for driving the serrated or fingered agitator blades 33 is by providing the ends of their shafts with pinions 34 meshing with stationary double racks 35. Thus the vertical movements of the buckets cause the staggered agitator blades to turn .most bucket, in the manner shown in Fig.

1, where it is deflected back and forth by the plates 29, 30 and 31. While this back and forth travel of the material from the lowermost left bucket is taking place, the series of buckets on the left side of the machine are raised and the others are lowered. The lowermost left bucket 24 is provided with a downwardly extending apron 38 forming an extension of its plate wall 27 and this apron serves to keep the chute 37 from discharging through the openings in the partition when this bucket is raised. In the other extreme position of'the buckets, as shown in Fig. 2, the material in the lower left bucket 2 1 flows through the registering openings in the partition 12 and into the lowermost right bucket. A change in position of the buckets back to the position shown in Fig. 1 carries the material up where it will flow from the lowermost right bucket into the second left bucket, and in this manner the operation is repeated until the material is raised to the highest position in the tower, being the highest position of top right bucket, when it will flow through the opening in the partition to a stationary chute 39 conducting it away from the tower.

There is no danger of the material in any bucket passing out of said bucket through the partition openings through which it was supplied as the bucket openings 25 pass said partition openings, for such openings are always out of register and the bucket openings will not register with partition openings until they reach the next series above thus requiring that each transfer of the material from the buckets on one side to the buckets on the other side shall take place through theseries of partition openings successively, and while the material is flowing within each bucket and from one bucket to another the upper travel of the bucket causes it to gradually ascend thetower.

Economical and efiicient agitation with vastly increased opportunities for arresting values is afforded by the staggered pronged agitators which eliminate the impractical feature of forcing the values from the arresting and agitating influences of the l25 pockets as when unbroken or straight edge agitators are used. Also the reverse move-' ment of the prong agitators has a tendency to separate the lighter valueless gangue from the heavier precious values which are retained for continuous and unlimited most effective economical treatment under the most favorable conditions, or until such a time that all the gold and silver in the pulp is entirely dissolved. The gold and silver are dissolved and the solution passes on for the precipitation process.

By means of this invention more economical and efficient aeration is produced While the pulp is gradually being elevated without the use of pocket cylinders or any other form of pockets in which the pulp is inclined to settle and pack under certain conditions and can only be removed by scraping it out by hand.

The pulp must all travel a distance of approximately six feet to every foot of grade elevation and every particle of it is economically, effectively and thoroughly aerated forty-eight times per minute with atmospheric air.

T he gradual elevation of the pulp, which is necessary in order to accomplish perfect separation of the heavier gold and silver values from the lighter gangue, arresting and retaining the particles of gold and silver for continuous, indefinite and most effective treatment not only extracts the full value from the ore, but also makes it possible to separate the liquid from the solids in a higher settling tank and therefore with greater efficiency and economy.

It will be noted that the weight of the buckets on one side of the machine tends to counterbalance the weight of the buckets on the other side of the machine relieving the load on the motor to only the weight of the material in the tower.

WVhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cyaniding system, a pair of oppositely reciprocating members, buckets carried thereby, and means for transferring the contents of the elevated buckets to the lowered buckets.

2. A cyaniding tower for elevating, agitating and aerating cyanid solution and ore pulp in small units, comprising vertically reciprocating series of buckets having openings permitting of the discharge of material from the elevated buckets to the lowered buckets.

3. In a cyaniding tower for elevating, agitating and aerating cyanid solution and ore pulp, a pair of vertically reciprocating series of buckets having discharge openings, and a perforated partition between the series of buckets provided with openings registering with the bucket openings for permitting.

the discharge of the material from the elevated buckets to the lowered buckets.

4. In a cyaniding tower for elevating, agitating and aerating cyanid solution and ore pulp, a pair of vertically reciprocating series of buckets having discharge openings,

In a cyaniding tower for elevating,

agitating and aerating cyanid solution and ore pulp, a pair of vertically reciprocating series of buckets having discharge openings,

a partition between the series of buckets,

and provided with series of openings, the alternate series of openings in the partition registering with the discharge openings of one series of buckets and the other series of openings in the partition registering with the discharge openings of the other series of buckets, and means for oppositely reciprocating the series of buckets to cause each bucket to discharge into the bucket above the one from which it received the material.

6. In a cyaniding tower for elevating, agitating and aerating cyanid solution and ore pulp, means for oppositely reciprocating the series of buckets vertically, and means for causing the discharge of material from each bucket into the bucket above the one from which it received it.

7 In a cyaniding tower, a tower frame, a vertical partition through the tower frame, a pair of cages mounted in the tower frame, series of buckets carried by the cages on opposite sides of the partition and bearing thereagainst, and means for supporting the cages to counterbalance each other, there being registering openings in the buckets and the partition through which the material is transferred from one series of buckets to the other.

8. In a cyaniding tower, a tower frame, a partition therethrough, a shaft ournaled at the top of the frame. sprocket wheels on the shaft, chains passing around the sprocket wheels. cages suspended from the ends of the chains, buckets carried by the cages and having openings registering with openings in the partition for discharging material from one series of buckets to the other, and means for rocking the shaft.

9. In a cyaniding tower, a tower frame, a fabricated steel construction with vertical frame members, a partition extending across the frame, an oscillating means mounted at the upper part of the frame, cages suspended from said oscillating means to have vertical reciprocations in opposite directions,

rollers mounted on the cages engaging the vertical members of the frame, and buckets carried by the cages and bearing against the opposite sides of the partition, there being openings in the buckets and the partition through which material is discharged from one series of buckets to the other.

10. In a cyaniding tower, a frame, vertically reciprocating series of buckets mounted in the frame, and adapted to discharge from one to another, rotatable agitators mounted in the buckets, pinions on said agitators, and stationary racks engaged by the pinions for rotating the agitators,

11. In a cyaniding tower, a frame, reciprocating series of buckets therein adapted to discharge from one to another, inclined plates in the buckets for causing the mate rial to travel in a sinuous path therethrough, pockets in the inclined plates and the bottom of the buckets extending across the buckets, serrated agitators rotatably mounted to turn Within said buckets, pinions on the agitators,

and stationary by the pinions.

12. in a cyaniding tower, a frame, a partition therein, a vertically reciprocating series of buckets on opposite sides of the partition having removable cloth covered Walls bearing against the partition and provided with openings registering With openings in the partition.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

ORVIL R. COMSTOCK.

racks on the frame engaged Witnesses R. S. C. CALDWELL, H. l). CHASE. 

